Brain...Jammed Vandals Destroy Seven New Toyota Models at 2011 Chicago Auto Show

Auto shows seem to have become risky business for car manufacturers. After the BMW 750i that was stolen at the Detroit motor show earlier this year, now more disturbing news comes from the Chicago Auto Show, where the Toyota booth attracted unwanted attention.

According to local newspapers, seven new Toyota models had their interiors vandalized by three young men, aged 20, 21 and 28. We don't know what really caused this deviant behavior, but one report attributes it to the fact that the three vandals were allegedly angry "about American jobs going overseas".

And it seems they wanted the Japanese cars to suffer badly, judging from the tools they used - screwdrivers and razor knives. The three young men were arrested on Wednesday evening before the show's closing time when guards noticed them acting suspiciously around a Toyota Camry. The mess they made inside the seven cars is substantial: dashboards were left smashed and ripped, seat upholstery sliced, windshields scratched, speakers cut open and turn indicators broken.

According to the police, the damage to the cars is estimated at $30,000. Interestingly, they had no preference for a particular model, vandalizing a Camry, a RAV4, a Land Cruiser, a Prius, two Tundras and one Lexus ES350. Funny thing, no accelerator pedal or floor mat were damaged...

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Chicago Sun Times

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America's Top 10 Selling Vehicles in 2010

The U.S. auto sales numbers for 2010 are out and once again, Ford's F-Series pickup truck has been crowned the best-selling vehicle of the year, a title which it has held for 34 years in a row. According to Autodata Corp., the Dearborn-based brand moved 528,349 units of its F-150 light-duty and F-250, F-350 and F-450 heavy-duty trucks in 2010, recording an impressive increase of 27,7 per cent over 2009.

The Chevrolet Silverado took second place with 370,135 units, or some 158,000 less than the F-Series. Sales of GM's pickup truck were up 16,9 per cent from the previous year.

Despite Toyota's recall debacle, the Camry finished third overall earning the title of the best-selling passenger car in the States with 327,804 units, posting an 8.1 per cent drop from 2009. The Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla followed in fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Overall, U.S. automakers had four vehicles on the Top 10 list, while Japanese carmakers took six spots. For more details check out the complete list below that includes percentage changes from 2009.

1. Ford F-Series------------- 528,349 (+27.7%)
2. Chevrolet Silverado ------370,135 (+16.9 %
3. Toyota Camry ------------327,804 (-8.1 %)
4. Honda Accord-------------282,530 (-1.7 %)
5. Toyota Corolla------------ 266,082 (-10.4 %)
6. Honda Civic---------------260,218 (+0.2 %)
7. Nissan Altima-------------229,263 (+12.6 %)
8. Ford Fusion---------------219,219 (+21.3 %)
9. Honda CR-V-------------- 203,714 (+6.5 %)
10. Dodge Ram-------------- 199,652 (+12.6 %)

RK Collection Toyota Camry Coupe V8 NASCAR Edition is a Little Less Beige

The standard Camry isn't exactly what you'd call an exciting car - well, unless the gas pedal and floor mats decide to do their thing and kick in, that is... But as you might imagine, this here SEMA-bound example is a totally different beast from your everyday Camry. First of all, it's only got two doors. And then there's that massive V8 engine lurking under the hood.

The special two-door Toyota Camry NASCAR Edition was developed by RK Collection (RKC) in cooperation with the Japanese firm's in-house Toyota Racing Development (TRD) division. The goal was to create a high-performance but completely street legal Camry with a NASCAR engine to demonstrate the connection between Toyota's production vehicles and its NASCAR program.

We are told that the tuned car gets a specially made exterior shell with a custom body kit and 20-inch tires fitted with 245/35/20 Michelin Pilot tires in the front and 285/20/30 in the rear.

Inside, the car features custom leather-covered panels, power leather seats, SPEK gauges by Proparts and a powerful audio system. A four-point roll cage was also installed.

At the heart of the Camry concept is a TRD NASCAR V8 engine that measures 358 cubic inches and delivers 680 horsepower at 8500 RPM. The V8 is hooked up to a Tremic T-56 Magnum six-speed manual transmission with a Ram dual-disc street clutch.

In the handling division, the street-legal racer makes use of Camry modified Macpherson struts in the front and a Venza modified multi-link independent suspension in the rear.

Toyota said that after its debut at the 2010 SEMA Show, the RK Collection Camry NASCAR Edition can be seen during the NASCAR race weekend beginning November 12 at the Phoenix International Raceway.

RK Collection Toyota Camry NASCAR Edition Features

Exterior
• RKC Custom made two-door 2010 Camry Body Sheet Metal
• RKC Custom Body Kit, Nose/Tail, Flare/Side Skirt/Spoiler
• RKC Custom Toyota Grill's
• RKC Custom Carbon Fiber Brake Ducts with Fog Lights
• RKC Custom TRD emblems

Tires/Wheels
• TSW Jarama 20X8.5 Front - 20X10 Rear
• Michelin Pilot 245/35/20 Front – 285/20/30 Rear

Interior
• Custom Leather Covered Panels
• Custom Suede Headliner with Integrated Rear Tweeters
• Custom four-Point Roll Cage
• Custom Leather Covered Power Seats with Custom TRD Billet Logos
• Custom Billet Shifter
• Custom Dash with SPEK gauges by Proparts
• Air conditioning by Vintage Air

Audio

• Pioneer AVIC-2110BT DVD/NAV receiver

• Boston Acoustics

o Gt-275 75w x 2 Amps.

o Gt-475 75w x 4 Amp.

o Two- pair SR-60 two-way 6.5 Component Speakers

o 1 G212-44 12' Subwoofer

Engine/Transmission
• TRD NASCAR Engine-V8 Configuration
- Displacement- 358 cubic inches
- Power- 680 HP @ 8500 RPM
- Bore/Stroke - 4.185 inch/3.25 inch
- Oil System- five-stage dry sump
• Custom Wilson Throttle Body Injection
• Motec Engine Management
• Custom Fluidyne radiator
• RKC Custom Header
• RKC Custom Air Intake with K&N Filters
• RKC Custom A/C Mounts
• Quicktime Bell Housing
• Custom Ram Dual Disc Street Clutch
• Tremic T-56 Magnum 6-Speed

Suspension

Front
• RKC Modified Camry Sub frame
• D2 Coil Over Struts
• Custom Lower Control Arms
• Speedway Engineering 1 ¼ Splined Sway Bar
• Woodward Power Rack
• Wilwood 14.25 Rotors
• Brembo six-piston GT Calipers/ radial Mounted

Rear
• Modified 2010 Vensa Sub frame with Lexus SC-430 Differential
• SC-430 Differential with TRD Locker
• Custom Adjustable Control Arms
• Custom Driveshaft and Axles from The Driveshaft Shop
• D2 Coil over
• Wilwood 14' Rotors
• Brembo 4-Piston GT Calipers radial Mounted

Exhaust
• Custom three-inch Exhaust with X-Pipe
• Thrush Mufflers
• Quicktime Performance Cut Out
• Custom Side Exhaust Tips
• High Temp Turbo Black Coating by H.M. Elliott INC.

Participating Suppliers
• Brembo
• Fluidyne high Performance
• Michael Waltrip Racing
• Michelin Tires
• PPG
• Speedway Engineering
• Specialty Automotive Materials
• Toyota Racing Development
• Tremec Transmissions
• Vintage Air
• Wilwood Engineering
• Brown & Miller Racing Solutions
• ProParts
• Hushmat

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Speed Ticket Survey: Mercedes-Benz SL and Toyota Solara Drivers Top the List

We recently told you about how the angriest drivers in Britain tend to be behind the wheel of a BMW. Now we have some speeding/insurance info from the States, and it's a bit surprising.

According to Quality Planning, a division of Verisk Analytics Inc., American Mercedes SL drivers are at least four times more likely to get ticketed than a run-of-the-mill motorist who presumably drives a Camry Solara or...no, wait, the Camry Solara/Coupe and Scion tC come in at second and third.

Oddly, the Pontiac Grand Prix is still on the list and making waves (scroll down for the full list with stats).

Of the top ten most ticketed cars, Mercedes and Toyota can each lay claim to three: the SL, the CLS63, and the CLK63, and the Camry Solara/Coupe, Scion tC, and xB. In defense of its speedy vehicles, Mercedes' spokesman Robert Moran says, "These are fun-to-drive cars, and sometimes people have a little too much fun enjoying them."

On the other side of the spectrum, people-hauling SUVs were among the least ticketed as long as we exclude the Hummer H2/H3; the lowest was actually the Buick Rainier.

The lesson here, kids, is skip the sex-on-wheels Benzos and just go for an old Buick SUV is you want to avoid tickets. Or, you could just restrain yourself...but where's the fun in that?

By Phil Alex

Source: Verisk Analytics , Via: BusinessWeek

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